Evaluating Online Games

We were asked to find three educational game sites for our content area and evaluate them. I chose to evaluate a classic game that I played as a child, along with two new sites that I found recently.


Oregon Trail : http://www.virtualapple.org/oregontraildisk.html

1. Who created the web site: 
Oregon Trail was created by Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger in 1971. The game was produced by MECC (Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium) in 1974.
2. Why was the gaming site created? While this is a very entertaining game, it has a lot of educational value. The game was created to teach school-aged children about the realities of life on the Oregon Trail.
3. User Friendly? The graphics in the original version that I have linked to above were engaging for the time that the game was created.  Now the graphics are severely outdated.  However, there are apps and other updated versions of the game with updated, engaging graphics.  The game is very simplistic and easy to play. 

4. Fun Factor?
I remember playing a version of this game when I was in elementary school. It is fun enough to span the generations. Children can learn the educational concept without being bored.

5. Wisconsin, Common Core State Standards, and/or WMELS: Make a list of two or three standards the games meet. Choose two from your discipline and one outside your discipline. If you are Early Childhood and/or Elementary, list Language and Literacy and one other core content area.

I actually had a lot of trouble coming up with standards for this game.  I had always believed that it was very educational, but it doesn't seem to meet state standards.

6. Ease in Finding an Educational Game Site: 
The site was not difficult to find. I just had to download a new plug-in in order to play the game.

7. Bilingual: 
The original version did not have an ELL component, however, the updated versions do.

8. DI: Could this game be used to differentiate instruction?
This would not be a good site to differentiate instruction. This game doesn't really have a lot of adjustment options for difficulty level. Since this game is heavily strategy-based and not so much content knowledge-based, the game is not set up to differentiate.


FunBrain: www.funbrain.com

1. Who: The site was founded in May 1992 by Pearson Education, specifically by the division known as the Family Education Network.  

2. Why was the gaming site created?
This is another site that is educational in nature but is incredibly entertaining. The site was designed to foster skills in math and reading.

3. User Friendly: 
The site is very easy to navigate.

4. Fun Factor: I thought the games were quite fun. I specifically enjoyed the math arcade. It is a collection of 25 mini-games that are all math related.

5. Wisconsin, Common Core State Standards, and/or WMELS: 
Number and Operations in Base 10

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

6. Ease in Finding an Educational Game Site: This was a very easy site to find.  It is the top search result for "funbrain" and it has a very basic url that is easy for children to remember and type.

7. Bilingual:
This site is available in English only, which is it's main major drawback.

8. DI: Could this game be used to differentiate instruction?
This site is a great way to differentiate instruction. The grade level/difficult level of the game is easily adjusted. This way the students can all play the same game, regardless of ability level.

ABCya: abcya.com

1. Who created the web site: ABCya.com, LLC

2. Why was the gaming site created? This site was created purely for educational purposes, but the games on the site are fun and engaging.

3. User Friendly ABCya is a very user friendly site that is easy to navigate.  The graphics are colorful, bright, and engaging to young students, as well as adults.

4. Fun Factor : I found the games fun and engaging.  The nice part about the site is that there are a wide range of different mini games to play.  I played around in the 4th grade level and found several games that I found interesting.

5. Wisconsin, Common Core State Standards, and/or WMELS: 
Phonics and Word Recognition
Measurement and Data

6. Ease in Finding an Educational Game Site: 
When typing "educational games for kids" into a google search, this site will be one of the first in the search results. It is very easy to find with a clear, concise url.

7. Bilingual: While the site teaches Spanish vocabulary to English speakers, it does not have ELL capabilities.

8. DI: Could this game be used to differentiate instruction? This site could be used to differentiate instruction. It is quite easy to adjust difficulty/grade level in the games so that each student can play regardless of ability level.